The Princess and The Dragon
by Shay Itten
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia, princess of Fiore, has a strange magic. This magic killed her mother during childbirth and threatened Jude to propel him to confine Lucy to a tower in the Dark Woods, with just a dragon for company. Now, as Zeref's armies attack the kingdom, Lucy's magic is essential for Fiore's victory. Nalu medeival AU. Also contains Gruvia, Gajevy and Jerza.
1. Light of the Dark

**Lmao I don't even know what the literal fuck I'm even doing anymore. Instead of updating my old stories, I keep writing new ones like the idiot I am. Oh, well. At least my interest in writing shit is still as fresh as fucking ever.  
** **Hello, guys, I'm here with my first pureship story, with the complete Nalu, Gruvia,Jerza and Gajevy package. (The crowd claps and hoots.) It's set in a medeival era, with magic as something very rarely seen and the bars being called taverns. Yeaaahh. I like these kinda stories. I hope you like this one!**

* * *

 _18 years ago._

In the medieval world of Earthland, there was once a kingdom. The kingdom of Fiore prospered under the care of their just king and their kind queen. They lived in peace, trading with their neighbors, the Alvarez Empire, and with constant joy. The people lived in harmony, working during the days and singing and dancing in the nights. The king and queen watched over their empire with smiles on their faces and pride in their hearts. But it all changed when the queen, Layla, got pregnant.

When Layla was with child, she glowed like no mother had ever glowed before. It seemed like she was glowing with happiness, as the smile on her face indicated, but it wasn't long before people noticed that she was glowing a bit too much. In the literal sense.

Doctors from all over Earthland were called over to inspect the condition of the queen of one of the most powerful empires. Science, prayers, ayurveda, yoga; nothing seemed to work. It was such a bizarre condition; who had ever heard of a literally glowing mother? Was it her placenta that was imbued with light? Or was it her baby itself?

At long last, after a serious debate with his ministers, Jude Heartfilia finally agreed to send out foot soldiers to find the Witch of the Northsea Woods. She was rumored to be as beautiful as the stars themselves, with hair the colour of bone china and the wings of the fairies in place of her ears.

The soldiers returned with no news of the witch, breaking the hearts of everyone in the kingdom. The king ordered his most trusted guard to go on a quest to find the witch. Silver Fullbuster, otherwise known as Absolute Zero, the greatest hero that Fiore had ever seen, left behind his wife Mika and his year-old son Gray to search for the Witch. He scoured the Northsea Woods for any glimpse of the witch; a sliver, and he could catch her like a hyena could its prey.

He stayed in the Woods for 8 days and 9 nights until he finally found the witch. Astonished by her childlike appearance, Silver could only recognize her by the wings jutting out of her head.

She was kind; and she agreed to ride with him back Fiore to heal the queen. As they started their journey, a wyvern rose up into the sky after Silver's Pegasus. He dodged the fire and scratched the steely scales, but to no avail.

Silver did not return home to his family.

The Witch, Mavis, on the other hand, went to Fiore with the news of Silver's death and a heart affixed on help. She demanded to see the queen at once, so as to kill the root cause of her disease.

As Mavis reached the landing where Layla lay, 6 months into pregnancy - already looking as if she was ready to deliver the baby – she gasped in horror at what had happened.

The child, oh gods above, the child.

Mavis ordered for a midwife and a nursemaid to be brought into the room, and the baby – a girl – was delivered immediately. The cause for the glow was found immediately – the baby glowed with a golden light, unlike anything they had ever seen.

Layla only lived long enough to name the child Lucy before she gave in to death.

As Mavis told the horrified Jude the legend, his eyes widened, and then glanced in disgust at the newborn Lucy who had killed her mother. Consumed with rage and grief, he put her in the tower in the Dark Woods, with only a dragon to guard. The dragon was but a child at that moment; but Igneel's training had been completed. The pink scales, the fiery mouth – he would make a good companion for Lucy. But the dragon had a secret; a secret only his father Igneel knew.

After Jude had put Lucy down in the cot in the Dark tower, she smiled. And he said goodbye to the daughter who looked so much like her mother.

* * *

This is the story of a princess and her dragon.

* * *

 _Today._

 _ROAR_.

Ugh. Natsu was such a show off. Lucy couldn't believe that he couldn't even keep his flaming mouth open that wide for that long. It was somehow hard to believe that he had the patience required to do that.

As Lucy sat on the balcony at the top of the tower that was her home, she crouched down as she tried to hide from yet another "champion" who had come to "rescue" her. To be honest, they were so annoying, like the way gnats were annoying in the summer season.

Natsu roared again, and Lucy could hear the "champion" pissing his pants. A pink dragon was not really intimidating, but Natsu managed to hold an amazingly scary roar for a long time, so it somehow worked. Lucy honestly didn't know how. Natsu was such a cinnamon roll.

"Is he hot?" Lucy asked from the shadows, and Natsu turned to give her a withering glare. She gave him a _What?_ look, and Natsu bent down low enough for her to touch his neck and said, "He looks like another one of those pedophile oldies."

Ugh. Come on kingdoms. At least send a champion who's hot.

"Is he scared enough already? I'm hungry. " Lucy said, and Natsu nodded as he rose up once again. He gave a roar full of fire to indicate that the so-called champion was gone, and Lucy could get up now.

"Honestly, these guys are so bothersome." Lucy said, putting her escaped golden hair back into the messy knot. She then turned to Natsu and said, "Can you please turn back now? It's really weird seeing a friend turn into a pink dragon."

Lucy could've sworn that those cat-pupiled eyes just rolled.

She rolled her own pair as she saw Natsu turn back into a human. Lucy assumed that it would be fascinating for some people, but she had seen Natsu do this so many times that it didn't even surprise her when his giant dragon body started shrinking into a boy her age.

"If your friend _is_ a pink dragon, Luce, you need to get used to him turning into one." Natsu said, looking at her in his _you so dumb_ way that always pissed her off. She had half a mind to slap him upside the head, but ultimately decided against it.

"Come on. You'll love the lunch today." He said, flashing that endearing grin of his that always made her do whatever he whatever he wanted her to. Actually, that grin could do anything. It could create world peace, it could get them firewood, and it could get them free food. Natsu was the only one who could leave the tower, and he made sure to rub it in her face every day. And then he'd grin and Lucy would forget it all like the sucker she was.

Lucy fell into step beside Natsu as he led her into the pantry, and groaned as his arm fell onto her shoulders. "Good, huh?" he said, looking at her with expectation, like a dog did after you threw a stick. Not that she would know, of course. Lucy only knew what she did about the outside world through Natsu's stories.

As Lucy looked at all the food, she fought to keep herself from drooling all over the pantry floor. Oh, was she going to knit Natsu a new jacket for this. The draughty pantry was suddenly completely restocked, and it wasn't just full of the kind of shit they sometimes had to eat. Oh, no, the food was completely amazing – trout, caviar, chicken, beef and literally every kind of meat to ever be found on Earthland. Natsu had probably gotten all of that for himself, since it sat separately from the pile of goodies that Lucy couldn't wait to get her hands on. Strawberries, chocolates, vanilla flowers, sugars of every imaginable color, candies, oh god. Natsu was going to get a new pair of pants too.

Lucy squealed in delight and rushed over to the jar of chocolate to stuff some into her mouth. She was usually the one who had to beg Natsu to eat a little civilly, but now she was glad he was such a caveman. She could stuff her face and get her fingers dirty and she knew Natsu wouldn't give a damn.

As Lucy stuffed her face with chocolate (and heard Natsu do the same beside her) she started thinking about the outside world again. All that Lucy had ever seen was the trees surrounding her tower, and the small stream that passed through it. The animals she had seen included birds and dragons, and she didn't even know what being around other people would feel like.

"Is something wrong?" Lucy heard Natsu's voice echo in the lonely castle before she turned to him, smiled, and said "Why would something be wrong?"

"I don't know, you aren't eating. If you're not hungry, I could always just…" Trailing off, Natsu made a move to grab Lucy's food, but like hell she was going to give it to him. Pulling it against her chest, she stuck out her tongue and told him to stay away. He was going to walk around naked if he even touched the chocolate.

He raised his arms in defeat, and resumed stuffing his face with trout. He really loved fish, something he had picked up from the blue cat who liked to hover outside the tower windows. It was very fond of Natsu, which had prompted Natsu to 'adopt' the cat, even though it could not come into the castle.

The cat always flew in a way that made Lucy laugh in delight, a fact that had prompted Natsu to name him 'Happy', for the happiness that he brought into their lives.

Lucy, bored of the same taste of the chocolate, got up to boil some vanilla flowers in water. As she did, the tower shook with the greatest rumble she had ever heard. The walls trembled, something that should never happen to a massive, ancient stone tower, because the chances of it falling were extremely high.

Lucy screamed as she ducked, prompting Natsu to rush over to envelop her in his arms. Chunks of stone were now falling from the sky; a bit a blue sky was visible. The falling rocks threatened to crush them, to turn their skulls into bone flavored pancakes, when Natsu changed.

Lucy, having seen the pink dragon all too many times, was scooped under his wing, enveloping the princess in darkness. The rumbling was even greater under the safety of Natsu's wing, but it was a strange sort of peaceful, prompting Lucy to think about something else.

Didnt increasing the surface area of his body make Natsu more vulnerable to the falling stone? Lucy couldn't let him do this to himself; she couldn't lose her only friend to something as stupid as shitty rock. She had to do something to stop him from doing this.

She tried to push the wing off her back; the usually light wing did not budge. Figures, since Natsu had probably already anticipated that Lucy would want to leave from the protection he offered her. The princess pushed at the wing with all her might, groaning under the weight, but it showed no signs of moving from where it rested.

Lucy, who had been about to lose a few more tears, gasped as her body was enveloped in a soft golden light.

* * *

Gray Fullbuster sat upon his chair at the Hall of Ministers in the Heartfilia kingdom, bored out of his mind. He listened to the king drone on and on about expenses and taxes and other shit the knight had absolutely no interest in.

He picked his nails until the meeting was dismissed, and was the first one out of there, his mouth stretched out in a massive yawn. Gray felt wrung out; his body was resisting even the urge to yawn because of its stupid tiredness.

Gray walked down the stone walls of the castle as he searched for something interesting to do. Training was out, since he had spent the last night doing exactly that. Girls were out since he always blushed when one even showed her undergarments, let alone be naked.

So he went down to the game room, hoping to find some source of entertainment.

Entering the game room with another yawn, he marveled at the rich maroon furnishings that decorated the lavish place, complete with dark red sofas and fluffy pillows on the floor. His eyes roved around the room, trying to find something of interest. After a long while of looking at pool tables and chess sets and golf mini-courses, Gray finally settled on playing the pianoforte situated at the corner of the room, probably pushed out of the way to create more space for golfing.

Settling himself down on the cushioned piano chair, he placed his fingers above the keys of the instrument, contemplating the piece he should play. Finally settling on Franz Schubert's _Ave Maria_ , he gently pushed down on the keys and began to play.

Gray had not played the pianoforte ever since his mother had died. He was clangy and heavy on the keys at first; the sound produced was most horrible. But as he tried to flow through the piece, his movements became smoother, his finger moving more loosely and his stiff shoulders straightening themselves out.

He dissolved himself in the piece; it was perfect for the situation the kingdom was currently in.

 _Ave Maria, maiden mild,  
safe may we sleep beneath thy care. _

Safe may we sleep, Gray scoffed in his mind. Yeah, sure, sleeping safe while the greatest dark wizard of the millennium was attacking you. Talk about a joke. Even the king had no idea why Zeref was attacking Fiore along with the Alvarez Empire, but a rumor had been spread that he wanted the Great Witch Mavis. It was all the worse, since Mavis was nowhere to be found.

 _The murky cavern's heavy air  
Shall breathe of balm if thou hast smiled._

Yeah sure, Franz. Just lay it on thick. The piss poor state of the kingdom, as well as the smell of excreta spreading all over wasn't going to change. People were losing jobs because of the poor economy and high taxes, and all this money was being sent to the Generals leading the wars. Gray himself had accepted when the king asked to reduce his salary, but there were soldiers who would never risk their lives if not given the promise of a safe life after retirement.

 _Foul demons of the earth and air,  
From this their wonted haunt exiled,  
Shall flee before thy presence fair._

Oh yes, because Zeref's demons were just flying away, cowering in fear. The golden kingdom terrified them, with all the corrupt officials and black markets. Honestly, now this song was just mocking the kingdom.

Fuck this. Gray was going to play some pool.

As Gray positioned his cue against the white ball (whose name he did not know), a figure swathed in gold and white finery strode into the room. Jude Heartfilia was dressed in a tunic, covered by a cape bearing the Heartfilia symbol, a key. Gray dropped the stick immediately and almost fell onto the floor in a bow. The king made a vague hand motion, gesturing for the knight to rise up.

Gray stood, a hand curled in front of his heart and his head bowed. Jude liked his formalities, but he had, on many occasions, told Gray to stop being so uptight. Well, Gray was only uptight in front of the king, as could be gathered from the time when he had danced on a tavern table naked, as a dare. Elfman was never going to let him forget that.

"What brings you here, Your Majesty?" Gray asked in a clipped voice, hoping for some kind of mission. Gildarts had sent him back from the battlefield because he was apparently not "built for war". Bullshit, but there was not much Gray could do against the kingdom's most powerful knight, a position previously held by Gray's own father.

"I want you to go to the Dark Woods and bring me my daughter." The king commanded, looking as regal and as expressionless as ever.

Gray's face lost all color as he looked up at his ruler, saying, "Where, Your Majesty?"

"The tower in the Dark Woods that have my daughter captive. Bring her to me, and I will send you back out to the front lines, to fight alongside Gildarts."

As Gray contemplated this, the risk of going into the Woods seemed to diminish in comparison to the glory that could be won. Sure, the Dark Woods were full of dragons and wyverns and other creatures he did not even know the names of, but going back out to the battlefield to fight with his mentor would be enough to make him do this task. But before, he had to know…

"If you do not mind me asking, Sir, why exactly do you want your daughter back? I thought she was cursed." Gray looked at the ground again, afraid of the king's wrath. But Jude Heartfilia simply sighed, and said:

"Only she can save us now."

* * *

 **I opened a tumblr account for everything related to my stories, titled .com. After I post the next chapter of Second Origin, I'll be posting a smol Halloween fluff fic of Laxus X Lucy X Rogue. So follow me, and go check it out.**

 **So this chapter looks good enough. But tell me if there's any mistakes in grammar in the reviews. Also, do not forget to follow and favorite.  
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_** **Thanks~**


	2. Warrior of the Land

**Hey guys! I've decided on an order to updating my stories - this first, then Collinding Stars, then Unfed and then Second Origin, so I can to the readers of all my stories.  
Anyways, this is quite long chapter, and yeah. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. **

* * *

_**Music Recommendations for this chapter:**_

 _ **There are two songs I'd like to recommend for you while you're reading this chapter:**_

 _ **The first one Ride of the Valkyries from Wagner's ****Die Walküre , It's a very nice classical piece, and it tells the story of the Valkyries, the eight super-human women. I think this one is very suitable for druid Erza. **_

_**Second is a song for more modern music listeners - it's Magnets , by Disclosure and Lorde, from the album Caracal and it has an amazing beat. And it's chorus goes, "Let's embrace the point of no return." which is suitable for the events at the end of this chapter and the way it's going to affect Mira. It's also pretty good for the situation Natsu and Lucy are in, since the only home they've ever known was just destroyed, and they're never returning to the life they led before now. **_

* * *

**Now, for the story.**

* * *

As the druids – the tree nymph warrior females – shed their clothes, the stream gurgled alongside the lush green clearing. They had just killed the ogres that had been terrorizing the other nymphs. It had been but an annihilation of the ogres – even though they were strong and had an immense jaw, they lacked the agility that the druids had. Even though the ogres had posed no threat to the warriors who had been sharpened by the blade of experience, the man who had been conducting them did.

Stripping off completely, the leader of the druids – a scarlet haired nymph who was called Erza entered the riverine channel. She was soon followed by the rest of her clan; as by tradition, druid clans only completed a task after their leader, unlike the uncultured and disrespectful humans.

Erza lowered herself into the water and sighed contentedly. As a blessing from Uisce, the water goddess, Erza could breathe under water for a very long period of time, one longer than the other druids'. As a matter of fact, bathing, for druids, could not be done for longer than a maximum of two minutes as their rivalry with their nymph sisters, the naiads, was higher than ever. The nymphs of the freshwater, the naiads, represented everything that the druids strived not to be – vanity, arrogance, selfishness. They were as annoying as a group of humans, giggling at every attractive male and running from honeybees.

The druids hated them with a burning passion. The naiads had no problems reciprocating the feeling.

But this rivalry posed a problem for the druids – they could not bathe. And as they frequently dirtied themselves fighting monsters and wild animals, they had to bathe. Hence, they had to bathe as fast as they could before the naiads appeared and attacked them with their fangs and nails. Shallow and vain as they may be, they were nearly as strong as the druids.

Erza rubbed the flakes of dried blood from the arms, careful not to touch the wound on her forearm, the one made by the blue-haired man. He'd slashed at her with a sword as she'd been battling one of the bigger ogres, and he had caught her off-guard. His technique was good, but it was merely mortal. He lacked the experience that most of the nymphs had.

Looking around, Erza realized that most of the druids had already finished bathing, and now lay in wait for their queen to get out of the water. Some of the new ones looked scared, and looked around for the naiads in fear.

 _Foolish,_ Erza thought, reprimanding herself. She was putting her entire clan in danger by staying in the water so long. The naiads had probably already sensed them – it would not take them more than a minute to reach the clan. And Erza was the queen of the druids – she was worth even more than her entire clan, whether she liked it or not.

Scrubbing her face quickly, she stepped out of the water. The rest of her clan followed, led by Speio Goffi, her second-in-command. Her black hair glinted in the sunlight, the water making it cling to her breasts. Speio's sharp eyes glanced around for enemies, her sharp nose turning around like the beak of a woodpecker.

"I am going to deal with this alone." Erza said, trying to look as stern as possible. "Do not follow me."

She knew that Speio and Bisca were going to follow her no matter what, but these little threats kept the rest of her clan at bay.

Erza had a good enough idea of who it was behind that bush – the blue haired guy who had just controlled a bunch of ogres. But it wasn't him and some other blue haired guy, and if she killed him, there would be some explaining to do.

But the guy wasn't completely innocent – he had, after all, looked at the druids bathing. It was a divine crime, and while killing the man was usually not the solution, sometimes it was. So at least Erza had a reason if this guy died on accident.

Erza took off from the clearing and ran through the trees. She had no reason to wear clothes since her ability was the manipulation of space – simply put, she could create a void in which to store clothing and weaponry, and she could use them whenever she needed. So far, she was the only known druid with this particular ability. The rest of the nymphs had their own abilities as well, but they were never the ability that Erza possessed.

Following the infiltrator was not difficult at all – he left so many bread crumbs that he may as well have done it on purpose. Which he might have, but it was useless to trap a warrior like her. And he also reeked of royalty – the smell of human blood and gold, of earthy jewels and expensive wine. Even Erza, a druid, was able to sense his scent. And druids had the worst scenting capabilities out of all the nymphs.

As Erza fleeted through the forest, she did not feel the familiar sting of branches on her face, and neither did she trip over any kind of rock or root. She had known that this would happen sooner or later after Erza became queen, but it still stung all the same. It was as if all the druids lived in fear of her; such fear that they moved their trees just to create a path for her.

A clan leader usually got her fair share of respect, and Erza was completely used to that. But as Queen of the druids, she was not just respected; she was feared.

And as much as Erza did not want to rule, if she had to, fear was not and would never be her preferred method.

Erza stopped following the scent as she reached the edge of the forest. There was a huge drop to the ground, where the kingdom of Armakhov stood. It was a grand kingdom for sure, but it was not nearly as lavish as say, Skallev – the McGarden's kingdom, or Fiore (or what was left of it.) The smell of the man vanished as Erza had neared the kingdom, corrupted by the smell of smoke and sewage and urine from the kingdom.

The Denarind Forest was on the edge of the empire of Fiore – not the kingdom retaining the name, but the empire which had been divided into four. And Armakhov stood here, even closer to the edge than the forest. It was the smallest kingdom of the empire, but it was self-supplying. And it was ruled by the Fernandez family, a line of kings who toed the line between justice and peace.

And as Erza stared at the spiraling towers designed to conserve space and at the stone castle in the midst of all the high-rising buildings, all she could think of was the blue haired man who had attacked her clan.

She was going to find him.

And kill him.

* * *

Natsu carried Lucy through the dense woods, trying not to step on any sharp rocks or tree roots. A soft golden light still surrounded Lucy, but it was slowly losing its power and turning translucent. But for the time being, the light she gave off was enough to illuminate Natsu's path.

At first, the light which had surrounded Lucy had been almost opaque, covering her body like a shining gold blanket. And she had been muttering what sounded like an introduction, a first meeting. It had been very creepy.

And Natsu didn't know what kind of stupid stunt Lucy had just pulled back there, but it had almost drained her life force. By the time he had turned back into a human and gotten her out from under the falling rocks, her pulse had slowed down to a trickle and her heart had been beating monotonously. She had bruise marks and cuts all over her body, and there was a huge gash on her thigh, with white bone visible under the blood and the flesh.

Whatever she had done, she had achieved what she wanted to. The falling rocks had stopped just in time, before any of the especially large ones had hit the ground. They had just stopped in midair as if they were puppets held up by string, and even the blood pouring out of the various gashes on their bodies had stopped flowing altogether. The wind still blew, but the grass around them did not move along with it, and neither did the trees.

By the time the rocks had started falling again, Natsu had reverted back to his human form and carried the unconscious and mumbling out from under the deathtrap. It seemed that whatever had stopped the rocks did not slow the process of clotting, since most of their smaller wounds had already closed.

But that one big gash on Lucy's leg posed the real problem. It had not had enough time to heal, and was still bleeding freely. All Natsu could've done was rub some chewed wolfsbane onto the wound and hope for the best.

Lucy had saved the both of them for sure, but Natsu didn't give a damn. If she ever almost got killed trying to save him again, make no mistake, she was going to die by Natsu's hand.

Lucy was slowly glowing out of power, as if the petroleum inside her was slowly finishing off. It was just like her, powering down slowly after a sudden movement.

Natsu was panting and sweaty by the time Lucy's light had been completely extinguished. It was a scorching night, and the humidity was off the charts. Natsu was sweltering inside his woolen jacket, so he took it off and left it on the forest floor. He walked a few miles before settling at a clearing near a stream, away from all the tall pines and shorts cyacas. Natsu couldn't even turn into an intimidating dragon now since he had used up all of his magic energy at the tower, and now that exhaustion was overtaking him, it was physically impossible.

His eyes were drooping and his bones were leaden as he set Lucy down on the soft grass, but Natsu swore not to go to sleep, at least until Lucy didn't awaken. And while he had a thorough knowledge of the outside world through an aerial view, he knew nothing about forests. He usually flew to the nearest village for food and supplies, and he never walked. And so, his feet ached like anything.

Sweat was making his shirt cling to his body, and as he lay beside Lucy, it was extremely uncomfortable. So he took that off as well, along with his baggy woolen pants. Feeling better in his boxers, he looked at Lucy. Since the trees were scarce in this clearing, the moonlight landed directly on Lucy's face, making her look regal and majestic, like the princess she was and not some country girl tending to the family she had – which was a pink haired dragon shifter boy and blue colored flying cat.

Talking about blue haired flying cats, Happy had flown alongside the pair as they had made the journey to the stream. He was now nestled on Lucy stomach, sleeping serenely. Watching them, Natsu felt as happy as he was ever going to be.

Natsu contemplated taking his boxers off as well, since he and Lucy were not unaccustomed to each other's naked bodies, but ultimately decided against it. What if some stranger saw them during the night and thought that they were some kind of perverts?

Natsu lay back down and gazed up at the night sky. It was clear night, full of stars and a half but bright moon. He knew all of the constellations – courtesy of Lucy – and he could recognize the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia, and Leo easily. Lucy had loved to gaze at the night sky and look at the constellations, since she believed that Celestial Spirits were actual beings rather than myths, and now Natsu could see the appeal in watching the night skies. It was something peaceful and almost melancholic, and definitely something that could put anyone at ease in a minute.

It was a very well lit (a little too well lit, in fact, for Natsu's liking) and for the first time, Natsu felt uncomfortable to have placed Lucy in such a reveling place. The moonlight felt directly upon them, and even though it made her look good, it wasn't exactly good camouflage against predators. And the monsters rumored to lurk in the Dark Forest.

Still, Natsu could not move her to another position. The ground of the forest was hard and covered with pine needles and sharp rocks, twigs, and jutting tree roots. Not only would it be extremely uncomfortable and not to mention inappropriate for the princess, her back was going to be in ribbons when she woke up since Lucy tended to move around a lot in her sleep.

Natsu guessed that he was going to have to stay awake and stand guard over her this night and truly, it was not something he minded.

* * *

Gray rode Anamoros all the way into the forest, the horse's hooves slamming against the hard ground with a clicking sound. Since the floor was not covered with pine needles, there was nothing to stop this noise from attracting animals and monsters to them.

Anamoros was laden with the usual supplies – food, water, medicine and bandages, rope for climbing high rocks and the likes. Noah was used to trips like these into the forest, but a trip into the mythical Dark Forest was not exactly something that he wanted.

A roar sounded to his left; Gray turned to see a sphinx gallop alongside his horse. Sphinxes were a rare sight nowadays – hunting enthusiasts had started to turn to them after the pegasi had died out. Sphinxes were endangered, but it wasn't as if they were of any use. At least the pegasi had helped humans – the sphinxes were just man-eating animals.

The sphinx was looking to outrun Gray – he could not let it, since he knew the ways of the sphinxes. It was going to ask him a riddle, a tough one, and since he wasn't exactly a scholar, he was going to be eaten. So he kicked Anamoros into a faster gallop and leaned slightly to the right in order to put some distance between him and the lion woman.

Unfortunately, it was no use. The powerful legs of the creature propelled it forward faster than Anamoros's gallop, and the sphinx overtook him in no time.

Gray swore under his breath. He couldn't turn Anamoros to any side or even back, since the sphinx could catch up easily. He would just have to face whatever this weird hybrid put forth for him. Seeking to look as sharp and clever as he could, Gray narrowed his eyes at the sphinx. He had only ever seen one before, and that had not been pretty.

It wasn't as if sphinxes were bad on the eyes – they were gorgeous creatures, with the bodies of sleek and powerful lions and the faces of beautiful women. This particular one had long, flowing black hair, which created a sharp but striking contrast with the mustard color of the coat of hair on its body. It had almond shaped eyes the color of a sunset, coupled with a button nose and perfectly shaped lips. Muscles rippled under its strong body, creating a stunning visual.

The creature smiled to show its gleaming white teeth, which included the very sharp canines, and said, "My name is Sephora. I'm going to ask you one riddle – answer correctly, you win. Answer wrongly, you die." She had a husky and cold voice, like the voice a courtesan took with a noble.

Gray felt a chill run down his spine and struggled to keep his composure.

"Are you ready?" Sephora asked, her eyes taking him in like a piece of particularly tasty meat. Gray gulped, steeling himself, and nodded.

"Okay," she said, "but remember. I will not repeat these lines, so listen carefully."

Blocking out the noises of the chirping birds and the splash of water, Gray listened, concentrating all of his attention on Sephora's gravelly voice.

"I am on your plate and on the road,  
I keep you alive and well in sport;  
But if you choose my wrong side,  
By the rules of life I will not abide.  
Who am I?"

Well, shit. This was going to be tough.

Luckily, Gray had a good memory, and memorizing this small poen was nothing compared to the ballads and sonatas he had learnt by heart.

 _I am on your plate…_ a knife? a fork? A spoon perhaps? Or maybe actual food? There were too many options to choose from here, so Gray proceeded to the next part of the riddle.

 _And I am on the road._ What was it? Pebbles? Rocks? Granite? _I keep you alive and well in sport._ It was something that sustained him and gave him energy… food? Water? Food could've been the answer if it hadn't been 'on the road'.

 _But if you choose my wrong side, with the rules of life I will not abide…_ It was most definitely not food.

"A spoon? A fork? On the road?" Gray said out loud, and the phrasing immediately led to a brainstorm. The sphinx gave him a smile full of sharp teeth. "I want just one answer, boy."

Gray nodded, thinking over his was always a fork on his plate, and forks in the road were not uncommon. And in novels, taking the wrong side of the fork almost always meant certain death….

And what tool did he use to bring food from his plate to his mouth, indirectly sustaining him and keeping him active and animate?

Gray wasn't completely sure about his answer, but he did feel confident. So he grinned and said, "Fork. The answer is fork. "

Sephora showed of her teeth once more, and then stepped aside.

* * *

Mirajane Strauss awoke to the sound of the piano playing softly in the next room. She smiled softly, practicing, and then proceeded to wrap a robe around her nightgown and head out to the foyer. It was decorated lavishly, with rich beige leather covering every surface. The sofas were swathed in it, accompanied with maroon and blue velvet cushions which complimented the beige nicely. The curtains were made of similar velvet as well, and the mantle was red marble, white fissures spreading across it, making the flames dancing in the fireplace seem even more terrible. The floor was white and red marble accompanied with granite, and it felt cold under her bare feet.

The room itself was huge, as expected of the Lord by whom she had been hired. A grand piano lay at the centre of the room, the centre of attraction. It was an inky black, and the Lord was playing away. His fingers were long and dextrous, and he touched every key very softly.

Mirajane recognized the piece as Chopin's Tarantelle, the music not lovely, but soulful. It may sound clangy to someone who had no experience with music, but Mirajane's mother had played this piece quite a few times. The A-flat was wonderful music, but the piece ended too soon. The Lord closed his eyes, and Mirajane began her polite applause. She took care not to clap too hard or soft, just the perfect amount of sound for a client.

He turned around with a grin on his face. Lord Byron had been one of the less handsome clients of hers, but he was the nicest. And it wasn't like he was dead ugly. All of Mirajane's clients could be courtesans themselves, with the looks they had.

Courtesans had taste too. And Ythir's best had the pick of the herd.

"I didn't know you could play. And Chopin, at that. Where did you learn?" Mirajane asked, modulating her voice to sound polite, but not overly so. It was a skill every courtesan had to learn at an early age, because the Lords and Ladies who bought them had little to no tolerance.

Byron's smile spread further. "My father was a man of the arts. He taught me every piece I know."

The smile never left Mirajane's face. "So are you ready to marry the woman?"

Lord Byron faltered, but maintained his smile nonetheless. It was admirable, how much courtesans and ministers both had to work on their behaviour, although the difference in their professions was monumental. "Yes, I am. Though she is not nearly as much of a beauty as you are."

And here Mirajane thought that Byron wasn't a complete pig.

Ah, well. All men were pigs. She'd accepted that a long while ago.

"Do you think we could... you know..?" The Lord stuttered, and Mirajane shivered inside. Byron would have been a catch for any Lady, given his good natured face and lean body, but Mirajane didn't want this. She was so done sleeping with people for money.

However, she willed herself to turn her innocent smile into a wicked one, and dropped the robe.

* * *

Near the window of the Montgomery Manor, a white haired reporter named Lisanna clicked a picture of the gyrating woman and the man.

This was going to be _the_ biggest scoop.

* * *

 **Yes, I named a sphinx after a cosmetics company.**

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 **I'll be answering the reviews now!**

 **Everyone who wanted the next chapter: Well, here it is! _**  
 **Everyone who thought this was interesting: You thought that was interesting? Wait till you see what I've planned! **  
**The Guest : Well, I'm going to make two points here. (1) This is not a story set on Earth. No way. This is not Earth, and that planet has science lmao (2) You know Aristotle? Kanada? Herodotus? They're all not only thinkers, they're scientists. And they lived in times before this story is set. Don't underestimate science, bro. I really appreciate the constructive criticism though. Thanks. **

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**Guys, tell me if there are any mistakes and I'll correct them!**

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 **And don't forget to follow, favorite and review! I appreciate any kind of reviews, may they be bad or good. Just keep 'em coming!**


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